I have just finished the " once every two years" read of the James Bond novels and have again come to the conclusion that Goldfinger is the best.
It has the best villain, the best story and what can you say, " Pussy Galore". To come up consistently with names of this calibre for female characters is an art in itself, remembering what a censored world these novels were born into.
Fleming can be snobbish in his writing and pedantic, as in a 1/2 page description of gear changes in a car Bond is driving but in this book we have a great story with the plan to rob Fort Knox.
This plan ( plot spoiler) is of course foiled by our hero but this is a real novel, one that has not been given the credit it deserves, probably because of its genre and the novels that proceeded it.
In my opinion this book followed by " On Her Majesty's Secret Service" were Fleming at his peak. As his health deteriorated and his dislike of writing these novels set in we were served up dross like "The Man With The Golden Gun", but with Goldfinger he nailed it.
There are many authors out there in authorland who would have liked to have written something as half as good as this.
Highly recommended for the rainy day Sunday when the bills are paid and the kids aren't stabbing each other
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